WABE: City Plans for Federal Funds to Stave Foreclosures (2008-12-18)

Atlanta

City Plans for Federal Funds to Stave Foreclosures

Odette Yousef (2008-12-18)

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ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - A city plan to stave off foreclosures has some worried that it will barely be a drop in the bucket. Atlanta's Bureau of Housing expects to receive 12 to 16 million dollars to help acquire and sell abandoned homes. It would come from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, and possibly the Department of Community Affairs.

At a committee worksession, housing bureau officials gave the conservative estimate that the funds could be used to get homeowners into 157 homes. The city hopes that those homeowners will get mortgages that will help replenish the fund, up to 70%... and that could help save 100 or so more homes.

But Ayana Gabriel of Westview says that might just cover the number of foreclosures in her neighborhood alone:

GABRIEL: Yeah, it will have a minimal impact, and I think that's why it's so important for there to be a strategy of how to really regenerate the funds.

Housing officials say that between January 2006 and July of 2008, there were 27,000 foreclosure filings in Atlanta.

They're moving quickly to unroll the program: they plan to identify non-profit and for-profit housing partners next month, who will do the heavy lifting with acquiring, refurbishing, and selling the homes.

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